Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

#251      

illinifan1987

illinifan1987
illinifan1987
Indy Illini Fan said:
He's a small guard ... 6'2 in shoes ...

His shooting from deep has really, really fallen off this spring (20%) ... Think he's like 40% from the field ...

He doesn't like to play defense and he's not big enough right now to play defense against HM guards ... Especially these COVID year guys ...

And so far this spring/summer he's averaged more turnovers than assists ...

Now - I still think the kid can be a good player but none of those numbers scream I'm ready for HM basketball right now ... And they definitely don't scream anywhere near the asking price NIL wise ...

They scream to me he needs another year of development at the HS level and then more development once he gets into college ... Probably a multi year guy ...

But that's just my 2 cents ... 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
3-20 from 3 during the U18 tourney
Cringe Reaction GIF
 
#252      

New Creation

N
New Creation
Indy Illini Fan said:
He's a small guard ... 6'2 in shoes ...

His shooting from deep has really, really fallen off this spring (20%) ... Think he's like 40% from the field ...

He doesn't like to play defense and he's not big enough right now to play defense against HM guards ... Especially these COVID year guys ...

And so far this spring/summer he's averaged more turnovers than assists ...

Now - I still think the kid can be a good player but none of those numbers scream I'm ready for HM basketball right now ... And they definitely don't scream anywhere near the asking price NIL wise ...

They scream to me he needs another year of development at the HS level and then more development once he gets into college ... Probably a multi year guy ...

But that's just my 2 cents ... 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Sign Language Asl GIF by CSDRMS
 
#253      

PepeSilvia

P
PepeSilvia
Indy Illini Fan said:
He's a small guard ... 6'2 in shoes ...
Click to expand...
I'm not saying he's not talented or he's going to be a good player(making the U-18 American team is a good sign).

But I've always wondered why his people seemed so high on a 6'2 guard being a one and done or even two and done(with a reclass) type player.

Any guard that small has to be truly truly special to be picked that high. Sheppard had to shoot over 50% from 3 and Dillingham had to shoot 44% for them to be picked that high.

Jamal Shead and Mark Sears were the two best guards in the country and neither were hyped in the NBA draft. Sears ended up returning and Shead probably should have.
 
#254      

Brosky

B
Brosky
PepeSilvia said:
We will likely have to see how the freshman look but if Kasparis is as good as advertised he will be better than what I saw from Boswell at Arizona.

Now, there is no reason that they couldn't play at the same time but you get a huge matchup advantage from having a 6'5 pg and being able to run out 5 players that are all 6'5+.

I think the size and athleticism issues that last year's team caused for other teams is overlooked as a reason for their success. Opposing teams(except UConn who was similarly big but had an exceptional 7 footer) just couldn't keep the Illini off the boards or from scoring inside. The only two teams we really struggled with had 7'2 and 7'4 guys that went top 10 in the NBA draft(Edey was over drafted imo - also like our chances in a 3rd matchup).

Some combination of a 6'5 Kasparis, 6'6 Ty, 6'7 Tre, 6'9 Riley, 6'9 Humrichous, 6'9 Morez, 6'10 Booth, and 7'1 Ivisic would create huge matchup problems for most opposing teams.
Click to expand...
Kasparis and Boswell should be able to work fine together. Doesn't really hurt anything if Boswell brings the ball up. Then you've got Kasparis in position to deploy all the point guard skills.
 
#255      

The Galloping Ghost

The Galloping Ghost
Washington, DC
The Galloping Ghost
I absolutely can't blame Fears for wanting to grab that cash now. If someone is willing to pay you for something you are currently doing for free, take the money. Though, gotta admit, I was looking forward to seeing him wear orange and blue next year. The thing is, the foundation is still there and with the transfer portal, our paths could cross again. I hope they do. Till then, show out young man.
 
#259      

kyillinifan

K
kyillinifan
I am surprised that there isn’t 30 pages on his departure. There was a lot of talk earlier that he wasn’t going to reclassify. That changed quickly. Good luck to him.
 
#261      

IndyIllini2

IndyIllini2
IndyIllini2
Does anybody else find it odd that in today's recruiting landscape, European players don't have any ranking system whatsoever on the main recruiting sites? There are sites that rank only euro players, but none of that is translated over to the American sites. 247Sports has our 2024 class ranked 50th because the 2 international players are considered 0 star players. Just seems odd to me.
 
#262      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
dawgville
Joel Goodson
IndyIllini2 said:
Does anybody else find it odd that in today's recruiting landscape, European players don't have any ranking system whatsoever on the main recruiting sites? There are sites that rank only euro players, but none of that is translated over to the American sites. 247Sports has our 2024 class ranked 50th because the 2 international players are considered 0 star players. Just seems odd to me.
Click to expand...

when you factor in what their budgets are, it's not surprising at all
 
#263      

illiniwil

I
illiniwil
Keisersose said:
I remember saying that no one in the conference would have a better core group than our Nunn, Hill, Black trio.

We never got the PG to run with those guys.
Click to expand...
i seriously don't want to go down this rabbit hole. groce was a good coach with mediocre talent.
three players don't make a team. look at the rest of those rosters and tell me how we could play
7-8 deep.
 
#264      

TampaToo

T
TampaToo
Indy Illini Fan said:
He's a small guard ... 6'2 in shoes ...

His shooting from deep has really, really fallen off this spring (20%) ... Think he's like 40% from the field ...

He doesn't like to play defense and he's not big enough right now to play defense against HM guards ... Especially these COVID year guys ...

And so far this spring/summer he's averaged more turnovers than assists ...

Now - I still think the kid can be a good player but none of those numbers scream I'm ready for HM basketball right now ... And they definitely don't scream anywhere near the asking price NIL wise ...

They scream to me he needs another year of development at the HS level and then more development once he gets into college ... Probably a multi year guy ...

But that's just my 2 cents ... 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
Do think he should be in more of a career path as Trent Frazier?
 
#265      

HensonHall71

H
HensonHall71
I think it’s hard to fault the staff in the Fears situation. He and his family became set on reclassing- he clearly wouldn’t play much or have the role he would want this year on our team, so I certainly don’t blame him for going elsewhere given the reclass

I’m also proud of how the staff seems to have handled it based on what we know:
1) Reclass - when reclass first came up they tried to make it work by having him come second semester and redshirt, he gets full year NIL and gets with Fletch and practices against really good college players - if the family’s purpose was to better prepare him for college ball and make some NIL, this is a good solution
2) Honesty- by all accounts they appear to have been honest with him and the family that he wasn’t ready to play a large role on this years team now - Will Riley they took because he is ready and fills a need

I don’t know what else the staff could have done if the Fears family was set on reclassing. It’s also likely a mistake, Jeremiah will be draft eligible next year but these reclasses for point guards rarely work out - Jeremiah needs to get physically ready, his defense and ability to run an offense will need a lot of development- putting the ball in his hands this year will likely lead to a disappointing year and hurt his draft stock - then he’s likely looking at needing multiple years in college to rebuild his draft stock and will likely never be as high as if he had come in and had a great freshman year

Whether we get Jasper or not the staff absolutely handled this the right way and I’m proud of them for that
 
#266      

CoalCity

C
St Paul, MN
CoalCity
ChiefGritty said:
If we want to be mature about it, JCL was basically exactly what Fears is.

Groce brought a lot of talent to Champaign, not as much as he should have and he couldn't do anything with the talent he had, but it was there.
Click to expand...
Except JCL could shoot and wasn't a passer at all. And had no interest whatsoever in playing any kind if defense. Other than that just like Fears
 
#269      

RockfordIllini

R
RockfordIllini
One could argue Kylan made a mistake reclassifying and he was much, much more physically ready to play in CBB than Fears. I love Fears’ game, but 6’2 and 160 is pretty slight. He looks like Rob Dillingham without the jump shot. Just not sure how that translates. If he and his family were really serious about getting to the league as soon as possible, coming to Illinois at semester and redshirting makes sense. Spend 6 months developing your body. Get in the gym early every day and play with that new toy that seems to have fixed Ty’s jumper. Come in fall 2025 around 185 lbs and ready to shoot 35%+ from 3. Forget where I heard this before but everyone wants to microwave, but you gotta bake. Good luck to him. Hope he doesn’t wind up like Khristian Lander.
 
#272      

Bbuck21

B
Bbuck21
Indy Illini Fan said:
And to add a little more to this … We’ve got an open ride …

And if anyone’s learned anything about Brad … If he can upgrade the talent … He will … He will recruit over kids …

You add Jasper to this team and it’s a no doubt top 5 preseason team … No doubt … Man would that be fun to watch …
Click to expand...
I know nothing about the finer points of any of the new recruits. It seems like a very talented roster right now. Clearly, you have a very high opinion of JJ. What is it about his game that changes the team to a top 5 as a freshman? I'm just curious (certainly not questioning your opinion :))
 
#275      

CoalCity

C
St Paul, MN
CoalCity
Bbuck21 said:
I know nothing about the finer points of any of the new recruits. It seems like a very talented roster right now. Clearly, you have a very high opinion of JJ. What is it about his game that changes the team to a top 5 as a freshman? I'm just curious (certainly not questioning your opinion :))
Click to expand...
Not trying to be sarcastic-totally sincere here-but just watch some of his tape. The answer to your question will explode off the screen. You won't even need to know which player he is, it will become apparent as you watch.